Perfect Pairings

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.

Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.

For apart from Me you can do nothing." -John 15:5

Glance at any food or beverage article,

and you'll find specific instruction on "perfect pairings."

Perfect pairings (say, of food and drink) are all about

maximizing the quality of the experience.

Perfect pairings offer

a convincing complement,

an extraordinary enhancement,

an incredible impact.

One Good Book in particular

provides in-depth commentary on Bread and Wine

and perfect pairings,

or rather, Perfected Pairings,

noting that people - when paired with Christ -

enter into possibilities like never before.

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

-Matt 19:26 Perfected Pairings are what Jesus offers everyone.

That's not only the Good News -

but the Best News we could hope for in this life.

In every instance below, all found in the book of John,

Jesus essentially says, "Come to Me for a Perfected Pairing."

Those who heed His advice realize that this offer

is Too Good

and

It's True.

Jesus pairs our "not belonging" with acceptance into a Family.

Jesus was not received by the world (either).

Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.

Jesus pairs our questions with His answers over time.

When asked (questions) by those willing to follow, Jesus responded, "Come, and you will see."

Jesus pairs our feelings of being unseen with His seeing:

"I saw you when..."

Jesus pairs our ordinary with His Extraordinary.

Jesus changed water into wine and multiplied loaves and fish.

Jesus pairs our errors and shame with His forgiveness and directive.

"I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more."

Jesus pairs our ideas of life with His idea of Life.

"No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

Jesus pairs our need with His Ability to Fulfill

beyond our expectation.

"Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.

Indeed, the water I give will become in him a spring of water

welling up to eternal life."

Jesus pairs our earthly concepts with His eternal principles.

"My food is to do the will of him who sent me."

Jesus pairs our trouble in the world with the peace of God:

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!

I have overcome the world.”

Jesus pairs our pain with His comfort and healing.

Jesus cries for the hurting, heals the injured, opens the eyes of the blind, and raises the dead to life.

Jesus pairs our denial of Him with His continued pursuit of us.

"Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep."

Jesus pairs our despair with His Outlook.

"Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." (!!)

Perfected pairings are possible

when we choose to be perfectly paired with Christ.

It is in that pairing that...

we prepare to behold His Glory and Goodness daily;

we pair our laments with our praises;

we compare ourselves to no other person;

we compare our thoughts, actions and priorities to Christ's;

we refuse to despair because of the hope we hold;

we repair our relationships with God and others;

and we take anything that impairs us and offer it -

to be used, to be healed, to be transformed.

Perfected pairings allow us

to witness

the ordinary becoming extraordinary,

the insufficient becoming abundant, and

the mundane becoming miraculous.

We can then repeat after Jesus:

"I know where I came from and where I am going." -John 8

Any human,

when paired with Christ,

shares in the complement of the temporal and the eternal;

experiences an ordinary life extraordinarily enhanced;

and acts in incredibly impactful ways for Good.

Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.

All becomes possible

in a life

paired with Perfect Love.

We can fully expect this Perfect Pairing to be divine...